Family Ties
by KaeCee-616
Summary: Clint returns to his family after the collapse of SHIELD only to find Laura's parents standing in between him and his wife, with a gun pointed at his chest.


**First Avengers fanfic whooooo! So I've been MIA for a while and in that time I've become obsessed with Marvel. I saw a few of the earlier movies when I was a kid but I'd never really paid that much attention to the MCU as a whole. Around when Infinity War came out I binged through all the movies and here we are! So my favourite Avenger is Hawkeye and Black Widow comes in a very close second. I've read a lot of post-Winter Soldier fics with Natasha deleting Clint's SHIELD files to protect him and his family, but I can't help but think what would have gone done if his files were released. I've toyed with the idea of doing a longer fic focusing on where Clint was during Winter Soldier and maybe one day I'll write it, but for now you get this little one-shot. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Family Ties**

by KayCee-616

* * *

Clint exhaled as he took the jet off auto-piolet. It had been a long time since SHIELD had collapsed and all its agents had been forced into hiding. With their files now public, anyone they'd ever pissed off could track them down with a simple mouse click. The only positive was that both SHIELD and HYDRA had been forced to abandon their old buildings, and the two assassins were able to sneak into an old warehouse, hijack a Quinjet, and head home without drawing any attention. Natasha settled into the co-piolets seat and gave him a warm smile. Clint nodded and exhaled again, tightly clenching the controls.8

'What's wrong?' Natasha said, clicking her seatbelt.

'Are we absolutely sure it's safe to go back?' Clint said. He stared out at the clear skies, almost as if he were expecting an ambush.

'Clint, it's been weeks since HYDRA were exposed. They're as much in the shadows as we are now. We've got Fury and Hill on the ground in case anything does come up. Even if someone were to find out about the farm, they won't let anyone get near it, okay?'

'I know, I know. It's just… If something were to happen-'

'That's what I'm here for.' She squeezed his shoulder and nodded.

Clint reluctantly nodded back. Yes, his family were off his SHIELD file, but everything else about him was now very much in the public eye. His covers, his safehouses, registered vehicles. What if one of them could be linked back to his home? Clint tapped his fingers against the controls as the farmhouse came into view. He couldn't tell if he was excited or nervous to see his family again. Had they read his SHIELD file? He had tried to be as open with Laura as possible, but there were some skeletons in his closet that she was still oblivious to. And the kids? They thought their daddy was a superhero, that he travelled the world saving people for a living. What would they do when they learned the truth? Clint released the jet's landing gear and they hit the ground with a gentle thump just outside the farm gate.

'You ready?' Natasha said, tossing him his duffel bag.

'Yeah.' Clint grinned and opened the ramp. The second he stepped foot on the muddy grass he froze. A silver Mercedes was parked outside his house and, though he hadn't been home in a while, he knew there was no way the Barton's could afford a car like that.

'Something's wrong.' His breath caught in his throat as he and Natasha pulled their guns from their thigh holsters. They both broke into a run and slammed the front door open, entering guns first. 'Laura!'

'Clint, Clint, it's okay.' Laura held her arm out. A man and woman in their late sixties stood opposite her. By the time Clint was able to identify them as Laura's parents, the father had already pointed a gun towards him.

'You stay away from my daughter!'

Natasha's arms tensed and she inched closer to Clint. He holstered his gun and placed a hand on her shoulder. 'Natasha, it's okay. Put your gun down.'

She shot him a harsh glance. _You better know what you're doing, Barton._

_Trust me, Nat. _He nodded slowly and Natasha turned her sights to Laura's father. She gave him her classic 'Black Widow glare' as she lowered her gun and Clint couldn't help but smile at her loyalty.

'Alright, we've put our guns down, why don't you put down yours and we can talk.' Clint held his arms out and took the smallest step forward.

'Are you crazy?' Laura's father, Robert, said. 'We know who you are, Barton. I knew there was something off about you when we met. I never should have let you anywhere near my daughter.'

'Dad, please put the gun down,' Laura said as tears pricked in her eyes. 'We can talk about this. It's not what you think.'

'Oh, it's not what I think, is it? You married an assassin and let a Russian spy into your home!'

Clint turned to give Natasha a silent apology and saw her hand was still pressed against her gun. He squeezed her shoulder. 'Stay here. It's okay,' he whispered.

'Clint.' She looked at him with concern sneaking into her voice.

'I know, it's okay.'

Clint moved forward, blocking Robert's view of Natasha. If things were to get nasty, he could at least make sure she was out of his line of fire.

'Don't come any closer, Barton,' Robert said. 'Nancy, take Laura and the kids to the car.'

'Dad, I told you, you're not taking us anywhere,' Laura said. 'Just put the gun down, please.'

'Laura, Honey, listen to your father,' Nancy said, stroking her hand down Laura's arm.

She quickly batted the hand away. 'Don't touch me. You two haven't spoken to me for years. You can't just come back into my life and pull me away from my husband.'

'Your husband is a killer,' Robert said, cocking the gun.

'Mom, Dad, what's going on?' Clint turned to find Cooper stood at the bottom of the stairs with Lila hiding behind him. They both stared at the gun in terror. 'Who are those people?'

Clint paled and looked between his wife and children. Their poor kids would be traumatised. It took all his self-restraint not to run to the stairs and hold them in his arms. 'Everything's fine, Buddy. Can you take your sister upstairs for me?'

Lila poked her head out from behind her brother. 'Auntie Nat, are Mommy and Daddy in trouble?'

'No of course not, Ly.' Natasha smiled. 'Why don't we go upstairs and play?' She took a step towards the stairs.

'Don't move!' Robert pointed the gun at Natasha and placed his finger on the trigger.

'Hey, just stop.' Clint took several steps forward and the gun was directed back to him. 'Natasha has nothing to do with this, okay. This is between you and me.'

'Shut up! You think you could hide this from us, Barton? We know everything. You were a killer servicing the highest bidder. You helped bring about the alien invasion in New York. We even know about that crummy circus gig you used to have.'

'Dad, stop.'

'Did you know any of this?' He turned to Laura. 'Did you know who he was?'

Laura hesitated for a moment. Her eyes met Clint's as a tear rolled down her cheek. 'Yes.'

'What?'

'Yes, Dad. I knew.'

'Laura,' Clint said. 'You don't have to do this.'

Laura huffed and marched towards Clint, much to her parents' disgust. 'I am not going to stand here, while you hold a gun to my husband.' She grasped Clint's hand and stared her father down with such assertiveness that Robert recoiled in shock. 'I love Clint, and I knew what I was getting myself into when I married him. I don't care about the person he used to be. This man, right here, is the man I love, and the man I promised to spend the rest of my life with. I don't care if you don't like him; I don't care if the whole world hates him. _I_ love him. And clearly, you can't accept that, so you might as well get out and get on with your own lives and leave my family alone.'

Robert was silent. Behind him, his wife choked and sobbed. Clint smiled and fought back the tears brimming on his eyelids. God, he loved this woman. HIn his peripherals, Natasha was inching towards Cooper and Lila so slowly that her movements were almost undetectable.

'I don't know what you've done to her, but this is not the daughter I raised,' Robert said.

'Dad, you're being ridiculous.'

'Am I Laura? Look around you. We gave you everything. Paid for college, sent you off to medical school, only for you to give that all away for this man.' Robert took another step forward, the gun shaking in his hand. 'As long as you stay with him, you'll never be safe. You may hate me for this, but trust me Laura, this is for your own good.'

The exact moment Robert tensed his trigger finger, Clint pushed Laura to the ground and looked to Natasha, who was already launching herself in front of the children. The gun fired. A sudden blazing agony exploded above his chest. He surveyed the room. Natasha held Cooper and Lila to her chest, blocking their view, and Laura was crouched on the floor, not a scratch on her. Clint exhaled; they were safe. He let his body relax and his knees buckled. The last thing he heard was the unintelligible wails of his children as his world turned dark.

* * *

Natasha turned her head just in time to see Clint collapse. Before she even had a chance to grab her own gun, Laura had scuttled across the floor and grabbed her husband's out from his holster.

'Get out!' Laura screamed, shielding Clint.

'Laura stop being-'

'No! You don't get to talk now. You're damn well lucky I'm not going to call the cops.'

Natasha joined Laura's side, gun trained on Robert and eyes drifting between him and Clint.

'Get out of my house, now. And so help me, if you ever step foot near my family again, I'll let the assassins pull the trigger.'

'Laura, please, Honey,' Nancy said.

'Don't make me ask you again.'

Ever so slowly, Robert and Nancy sidled towards the front door. Robert fumbled around with the handle until it swung open. The couple backed out of the house, picking up the pace when Laura and Natasha stepped closer to the door. They reached their car and sped off out of sight.

Laura remained planted in one spot, her arm still holding out her husband's gun. Natasha holstered her own and placed her hand on Laura's. 'Laura, they're gone. You can give me the gun.'

Laura lowered her arms and shakily handed the gun over. It was then that her mind snapped back into focus and she turned to her husband. Clint was lying unconscious; a small puddle of blood had already stained the floor panels. Cooper and Lila leaned over him, trying desperately to wake their father.

Lila looked up to her as tears streaked down her face and soaked into her father's shirt. 'Mommy, Daddy won't wake up.'

Laura took a deep breath, silently reminding herself to stay calm and composed in front of her children. Natasha had grabbed a towel from the kitchen and was pressing it above the stain on his shirt.

'Alright you two,' Laura put on her best motherly smile, 'can you go back upstairs and sit in Coop's room, so me and Auntie Nat can look after Dad?'

'Is Dad going to be okay?' Cooper said between choked gasps.

'Of course, he is, Kiddo. We just have to fix him up, so we're gonna need some space. Can you do that for me?'

'Uh-huh,' Lila nodded. Cooper helped her to her feet, and they climbed up the stairs, stealing glances at their Dad every other step.

The moment she heard the door shut Laura looked to Natasha. 'How bad is it?'

Natasha handed the towel to Laura and pulled a knife from her belt. She cut into Clint's shirt and examined the wound, keeping her voice low enough so that the children wouldn't hear. 'Bullet entered just below his collarbone. No exit wound. Possible internal bleeding.'

'I can get him stabilised, but he's gonna need a hospital.'

'It's too risky with HYDRA still out there.'

'So, what the hell do we do then?'

Natasha looked back down to Clint. She brushed her hand along his cheek, the skin already burning up as the inevitable infection settled in. A hospital was out of the question. Neither of them had had any time to establish new cover stories. Fury had a doctor with him, but Natasha had no idea where either of them were. There was no one else out there they could trust, but then it dawned on her. 'Stark.'

'Stark?'

'He has a medical facility at the tower. Rogers has been staying there while he recovers, I think Banner lives there most of the time too. It's the safest place we have, but-' She looked back to Laura.

'Take him.'

'Laura, are you sure?'

'Take him and call me as soon as he improves.'

She nodded and stood. 'I'll start up the jet.'

Natasha moved to grab her and Clint's bags and took one last look at her partner. Laura had shuffled closer to Clint and pressed the towel back onto his gunshot wound. She breathed heavily in a feeble attempt to calm herself as she leaned over her husband, their heads almost touching.

'You better keep fighting, okay?' Laura ran a hand through his hair. 'You don't get to do this, not in front of the kids.'

Natasha bowed her head and turned to the door. She barely caught Laura's quiet plea before she ran back through the field toward their stolen jet.

'Come back to me.'

* * *

Something was beeping in his ear. He grimaced and ignored it. A familiar dull ache throbbed near his shoulder and he felt a familiar sensation of an IV pricked in his right arm. _Did I get shot again? _He couldn't remember being shot. He and Natasha were in hiding after SHIELD collapsed; did HYDRA find them? Was Nat okay? The beeping quickened and he burrowed his head further into his pillow. Could the world just leave him alone for once and let him have some peace and quiet?

'I know you're awake.' Why did Nat sound so worried?

'Just five more minutes,' he slurred.

Something flicked his nose and the pain in his shoulder spiked. He groaned and opened his eyes to see a disgruntled Natasha standing over him. 'Ow. You really gonna beat me while I'm down?' He frowned like a moody child.

'Oh, stop being so dramatic.' She smiled and perched on his bed. 'How're you feeling?'

'Like I took a blow from Thor's hammer.' He tried to push himself up into a sitting position and winced as pain shot through his chest. He checked Natasha for injuries, but other than the ones she received when on the run with Cap, she looked fine. 'What the hell happened? Where are we?'

'Stark Tower's medical bay. You've been out just over two days,' Natasha said. She glanced over her shoulder, assuring herself that their conversation was private and continued. 'Laura's parents read our files when they were released. They weren't too happy when they found out who we really are.'

'Laura, is she-'

'Everyone's fine. A little traumatised, but otherwise okay. They're all back at the farm.'

'Oh my god.' Clint rested his head back.

'I'm sorry.' Natasha's hand tightened around his. 'I should have thought about the consequences it would have on your family before I released SHIELD's files to the public.'

'Hey, this is in no way your fault. You did what you had to do in the moment. It's not your fault that Laura's parents hate me.'

'You make it so easy.'

'Oh, gee thanks, Romanoff.'

Natasha laughed and moved to lie next to him, keeping his hand clenched in her own. They remained in silence for a good while, enjoying the quiet company. Clint's mind raced with thoughts of his children standing over his bloodied body. How the hell were they supposed to sleep at night after witnessing something like that? He was snapped out of his thoughts when a particular loud-mouthed billionaire burst through the door.

'Legolas, 'bout time you woke up. HYDRA sure did a number on you, huh?'

Natasha squeezed his hand, and he smiled and nodded to Stark. Stark looked between the two of them, zoning in on their entwined fingers.

'Well, uhh, the nurse is out for lunch right now so if you need anything, press the call button on the side table. But I'm sure Agent Romanoff would be more than happy to take care of you. I'll be in the lab.' And as soon as he entered, he had left.

Clint turned his attention back to Natasha. 'He doesn't know?'

'I figured after all this; it would be best if they remained a secret. Plus, I'm pretty sure Stark still thinks there's something going on between us.'

'It helps with the cover at least.' He leaned his head down on her shoulder. 'Thank you.'

Natasha smiled and lowered her head onto his. 'Speaking of your family,' she fumbled through her pocket and pulled out a burner phone, 'Laura made me promise to give her frequent updates on your condition. She might finally relax if the next one comes from you.' Natasha dialled the number and wedged the phone between her shoulder and his head.

'Hello?' Laura answered.

'Hi, Honey.'

'Clint. Oh my god. Are you okay? How're you feeling?'

'Been better, been worse.' He chuckled.

'I'm so sorry.'

'Don't do that, okay? It's not your fault. It's no one's fault.' Clint stole a glance at Natasha. 'How are the kids doing?'

'As good as can be expected, I guess.' Laura paused and snuffled. 'Clint, they saw you get shot. Lila hasn't been able to sleep since you and Nat left, and Cooper's been alarmingly quiet about the whole thing.'

'Hopefully, things should get better once I get home,' Clint said. 'Laura, it's going to be okay.'

Laura released a shaky breath. 'You should get some rest, Honey, you sound exhausted.'

'Don't wanna.' Clint leaned his head further into Natasha's shoulder, earning a chuckle and eye-roll from the redhead.

'Well if you won't listen to me,' the line went silent for a moment until he heard the faint sound of feet stomping across the wooden flooring, 'maybe you'll listen to them.'

'Hi Dad,' Cooper's tone was full of concern. 'Are you okay now?'

'Hey, Buddy.' A sad smile took over Clint's face. 'I'm doing a lot better now.'

'Can you come home yet?'

'Not yet, Bud. But I promise to come home as soon as I can.'

'Mommy says it's past your bedtime,' Lila said.

'She did, huh?' Even Natasha laughed at that one. 'Well, I guess she's right, but I'm having some trouble sleeping right now.'

'Do you want me to sing you a lullaby, Daddy?' Lila beamed. 'Like you do for us when we can't sleep.'

'Yeah, I'd like that.' Clint pulled up his blanket and lay his head back while he was lulled to sleep by the soft voices of his children.

Eventually, Natasha heard his breaths even out and carefully shuffled off the bed. She slid the phone out from under his head. 'Good job Kiddos, lullaby worked like a charm.'

'Will Dad be okay, Auntie Nat?' Cooper said.

'Of course, he will Coop. This is your Dad we're talking about; nothing keeps him down for long.'

'And those people won't try to hurt him again?'

Natasha was stunned to silence and Laura quickly retook possession of the phone.

After a collection of mumbles from the other line, Laura returned. 'I sent them outside to play,' she said. 'How is he?'

'Fast asleep,' Natasha said. 'What did you tell them?'

'Just that some bad people from their Dad's work wanted to hurt us. I'll save the truth for when they're older.'

'Laura I-'

'Natasha, don't. You heard what Clint said. Throwing the blame around won't do us any good now. Just make sure that idiot doesn't pull his usual escape stunt and bail from medical.'

'I can't make any promises.' Natasha smiled and sighed.

The two women said their goodbyes and Natasha hung up the phone. She turned back to her partner and tapped on the controls to lower the bed, so he lay flat. Clint winced as the movement jostled his shoulder, but didn't stir. Natasha brushed her thumb across his flushed cheek, the last remnants of a fever dying down. A flood of guilt washed over her. Whether he chose to blame her or not, it was still Natasha's doing that put Clint back in medical. The worst part was she couldn't take any further action. She couldn't exactly hunt down Laura's father and put a bullet in his back, and going after HYDRA alone would be a suicide mission. She had to face it; Natasha released SHIELD's files to the world, and now her partner was paying the price. Natasha brushed a hand through his hair. 'I'm so sorry, Clint. I promise you I'll do whatever I can to keep your family out of harm. I won't let something like this happen again.'

After pressing a gentle kiss on his forehead, Natasha left the medical bay to join the rest of her team, leaving Clint to some well-deserved peace and quiet.

* * *

**Oh Natasha, if you think this is bad, just wait until Infinity War!**

**Hope you enjoyed my first Avengers fic. I have several ideas lined up for future Clint based fanfics, but I'm also planning to do a collection of Clint Whump one-shots so if anyone has any prompts I'd love to hear 'em!**

**Thanks for reading! ;)**


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